Road heating machine



Dec. 18, 1934.

F. L. VAN ALLEN ET AL ROAD HEATING MACHINE Filed Sept. 17, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l Ahi* @o ESTA? E,

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Dec. 18, 1934.

F. L. VAN ALLEN ET AL ROAD HEATING MACHI'NE Filed Sept. 17, 1928 2 sheets-sheet 2- Patented Dec. 18, 1934 UNITED PATE-NT' lorrlcla.

1,984,849 l ROAD HEATING MACHINE Frederic L.' van Allen andAlfred T. King, Philadelphia, Pa., assignors to Galen Wood, Media,

applicationseptembeg 17, 1928, serial No. 306,364 tk claims.. v(o1. 12s-271.2)

heat to successive areas in re-surfacing an asphalt street orto spots of a road surface that are irregularly scattered, requires vmuch changing of position of thev machine as these areas and spots are successively treated. The rapidity with which the machine can be handled in changing its-position from one road spot yto another is an item bearing upon the expense of the operations.A i

Thereforeitisone of the objects rof our invention to provide a road heating machine of such construction and arrangement of itsfunctioning elements in lconnection with its support--v ing frame as will permit of turning the machine in as ysmall a space as possible and asrapidly as possible. In this connection,one ofthe features of our invention is .the mounting ofthe frame of the machine upon a tractor, such as a Fordson, or a short caterpillar tractor at three points as in three pointsuspension. Y

y Another object is to adapt ,the heating device to bequickly raised or lowered by the operator from where he sits to operate the tractor.

. Another' object ofour invention is toV have the heating device directly connected with the hood which covers the spot to be heated and thu get a more intense applicationy of heat. f

These and other objects will be describedin detail with reference to the drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a road-heating machine'embodying our invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan of the machine shown in Figure 1; A

Figure 3 is a top plan of partly broken away, to show internal construction, and.

Figure 4 is a vertical section of Figure 3.

In Figures 1 and 2 the frame 25 of the machine is shown mounted upon the tractor 26 and is attached thereto at three places, two of which are at 27 and 28 where U bolts 29 hold the frame on top of rear axle housing 30. The third'place of attachment is at the center of the front axle beam 3l where the supporting hook 32 is secured thereto by means of bolt 33 which passes through the shank end of the hook 32 and the frame member 34, the latter lying between the shank and the hook end with the hook hanging ofwhich are parallel respectively to the four verthe hood 36 and is adjustably spaced and hung` the heating hood,

on the bolt 33.V This hook 32 is flxed at the lower central part of the U portion 34 of the' fr ame 25.

Upon the rear end of the frame 25 is mounted the fuel rtank or container 35. At 4the front 5 endof the frame 25 the hood 36 is freely suspended by means of cablesY 37, 38, 39 and 40. Mounted on top of Ithe hood 36, centrally posi#i tioned, is the circular fire box or combustion chamber 41 lined with re brick 42, this con- 10k stitutes a furnace, and has an opening 43 leading into the'cavity of the hood 36 (see Figures 3 and 4),. The hood 36 vis made of specialheat resisting metal sheets 44 stiffened by angle irons 45 which are spaced from the plates 44 by wash-y 15 ers 46, through which pass bolts 47 securing the angle irons 45 to the plates 44. The sheets 44 are bent down to form the skirt 48 and legs 49 are provided to hold the skirt` 48 -off the ground or pavement, thus aiording a space 49a beneath the skirt 48 for the escape of the hot gases. 4 Y Y i f Suspended below `the iire box 41 within the hood136 is thesquare'spreader plate 50, the edges tical sides forming the skirt48. This spreader plate 50 is formed as an inverted.` pyramid with the apex at 5l and with flaring flanged portions. 52 which are parallel with the roof plates44 of thereunder on bolts 53. This spreader plate 50 serves to transmit as well as radiate heat downward and to deflect and spread the hot gases which pass between it and the roof of the hood 36. f

, In order to protect the tractor and the power plant of the machinefrom the hot gases issuing from .beneath the hood 36 we provide a screen 54, attached to 'a U frame 55 which is pivoted at the ears 56 and 57 mounted on the hood 36. This U frame 55 'rests' upon the top `of hood 36 buty is ,free` tobe liftedso as to raise the screen 54 independent of the hood 36. When the hood 36 is raised the U frame 55 israised with it. In order to steady the hood 36 with respect to the frame we provide a spacing frame 58 loosely, but securely jointed together and securely bolted to the hood 36 and the beam 31 of the tractor.

The hood 36 is raised by means of four cables 37, 38, 39 and 40, which pass over the respective pulleys 59, 60, 61 and 62. These cables are iixed together in pairs, the cables 37 and 39 being fixed together and the cables 38 and 40 being fixed together. The cables 39 and 40 continue rearwardly, each making a half turn about the respective pulleys and 66, are brought forward and fixed respectively in hol-es '70 and 7l of the cross head 72 of hydraulic ram 75.

For operating ram 75 we provide the pump 135, (which is driven by a clutch through certain shafts, sprockets and chains by the motor which drives the tractor) storage tank 141 and three- Way valve 140, this valve being positioned convenient to the operators seat whereby he can at will operate the ram 'l5 and thus raise or lower the hood 36 with its combustion chamber. s

For supplying fuel oil from fuel tank 35 to the fuel nozzle 123 we provide a force pump 130 Which is driven, in a similar manner to pump 135, from the tractor motor. Pump being prol vided with a spring by-pass valve automatically maintains a constant pressure on the discharge side of the pump.

To supply a volume of air to complete the combustion of oil in the re box 41 we have provided a blower 180, which is driven by belt 183 from the shaft which drives pump 130. This blower 180 is connected with re box 4l by the large pipe 185 which has a flexible portion 186 on account of raising and lowering the hood 36.

To place the machine in operation the various tanks are filled with oil and with thev hood resting on the street surfaces the tractor motor is started. The clutch, which drives the pumps 130 and 135 and the blower 180, is engaged, the burner in the re box is lighted, and the fuel and air are adjusted to obtain proper combustion. The air and fuel inlets entering the combustion chamber at an angle as shown in Figures 3 and 4 cause a thorough mixing of the air and fuel (preferably fuel oil) and the iiame is thereby given a rotary movement within the combustion chamber 41 causing thorough combustion. The hot gases thus created flow out of the re box 41 through the opening 43 against the spreader plate 50 and thence through the spaces between the spreader plate 50 and the hood plates 44 away from the area directly beneath the spreader plate 50 but heat from the spreader plate 50 is radiated against the street surface directly beneath the spreader plate so that ther full area of street surface beneath the hood 36 is heated. When this area is sufficiently heated the hood is lifted by operating the three-Way valve 140 which controls the flow of oil from pump to ram 75 thus raising the hood 36. The tractor'is then thrown in gear and the machine is moved to another area to be heated, the hood is then lowered by operating the three-way valve in the reverse direction,

thus lowering the hood until it rests on the street surface, bringing the hot gases in contact'with another area to be heated.

When moving the machine considerable distances it is not desirable to carry the Weight of the hood by the pressure of the oil in the ram From the foregoing description it can be seen that the use of the machine covers its application to long stretches of old pavement to be removed as Well as to patching spots irregularly scattered. Many modifications of the machine may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of our invention, we therefore wish to include all such as come within the scope of the appended claims. f

We claimt- 1. In a road heating machine, the combination of a supporting frame, a hood vertically adjustably suspended therefrom, a circular combustion chamber rigidly secured to said hood and adapted to discharge directly into the hood and means for supplying air and fuel to said combustion chamber.

2. In a road heating machine, the combination of a supporting frame, a hood suspended therefrom comprising a member forming a cavity, a circular combustion chamber secured to said hood and adapted to discharge hot gases into said cavity and a baffle plate in the form of an inverted cone positioned in said hood in the path of the discharge from said combustion chamber.

3. In a road heating machine, the combination of a supporting frame, a hood suspended therefrom, means for vertically adjusting said hood, a circular combustion chamber formed integral with said hood, a heat insulating lining within said chamber and a discharge port leading from said chamber communicating with said hood.

4. A surface heater comprising a flexibly suspended hood, a circular combustion chamber se- I cured thereto, an insulated inner Wall for said chamber, separate fuel and air inlets passing through said wall at an angle whereby the fuel and air discharged into said chamber will be given a rotary movement therein, and a discharge passage between said chamber and the interior of said hood.

5. A surface heater comprising an adjustable hood, a substantially circular combustion chamber secured to said hood, said chamber having an inner wall of insulating material, separate air and fuel inlets communicating with said combustion chamber, a discharge passage between said chamber and the interior of said hood and a baflie plate adjacent said passage so positioned F open'at the bottom and having an aperture in 4 its upper surface, a combustion chamber resting upon said hood, said chamber lined with heat resistant material, a hollow annular member between said combustion chamber and the interior of said hood forming a passage between the chamber and the hood and a baiile plate of inverted pyramidal form positioned below said passage.

FREDERIC' L. VAN ALLEN. ALFRED T. KING. 

